Preparing for winter III

**dancingbutterfly**

Thank you everyone for your solutions! :-) I rushed into town after picking my son up from school and picked up a rod but stupidly didn't measure the width at home and its 2 inches too wide :@ so I'll have nip back up tomorrow to swap it. As a poster has said I'll need two curtains really, I have two curtains that are 45 wide and 90 inch drop, so they should do quite nicely :-) thanks again for the help!

Thriftkitten

psso wrote: »

Thriftkitten - Confuzzled is correct. The tarts are supposed to be melted in this sort of thing. They don`t burn like candles.

http://www.theyankeeshop.co.uk/subcategory.aspx?CID=5&SCID=319

or these

http://www.4kandles.co.uk/index.php?main_page=index&cPath=1

Thanks for this info, have now broken it in half and it is currently disolving in the pot pourri burning and smelling rich xx:T

lizzyb1812

MaggieBaking wrote: »

Our front door is ancient and we're not going to replace it - but at the bottom of the door there's a big draft. I'd like a draft excluder (relatively pretty) but it's such a big "step" that I can't buy a draft excluder to fit it.

If anyone has any recommendations on where I can get one ordered to suit, or if anyone has any ability at making one I'd be happy to pay. Does anyone have any advice on what I should ask for when getting it made? I imagine it would need to be a fairly hardy material, and filled with something more than cotton fluff?

We're doing a big push to get the house completed for Christmas, and I'm an absolute novice at sewing (ie, I can't even sew a button on) and now's not the time for me to start learning and make one myself

Feel free to send me a PM with any details

I take it that you mean the draught is coming in a few inches above the floor because the door is set high up? So a standard excluder wouldn't reach the draught line?

Is the ancient door antique or just old - ie would you be prepared to screw 3 cup hooks along the bottom of it? If so then buy any old excluder in a pattern of your choice. Also buy some ribbon to match the excluder. Tie the ribbon at each end and the middle of the excluder and then hang the excluder on 3 cup hooks at each end and middle of the door. You'll have to adjust the ribbon to make sure the draught line is covered decently.

The advantage to this is that the excluder moves with the door and doesn't have to be moved/kicked back into place. I don't have the step problem but this is what I've done at my front door - draught excluder "always on". Excluder and hooks can be removed in better weather, but I don't normally bother.

prepareathome

Biobulb arrived this morning and of course will not fit in my lamps just overhead light, so had it on today, wow certainly white light, inside was brighter than out, as was out all afternoon and dull so dull. One thing I found is after an hour I had to turn it off as getting a headache. So light my SAD lamp I will just put it on for a bit longer each day till used to it. Asked hubby if he would have one in Floor lamp in living room under which he sits - he said he doesn't like it, to harsh. I agree it is, but think we can get used to them. Had forgotten what white looks like under those awful lights -dogs and bedding were such pure white under the biobulb, you really can see the true colour of everything. So will order some more. Thanks for the info.

Picked up a couple of whoopsied washable mats that just look like carpet rugs in Asda today for hall floor - its quarry tile and wonderfully cool in summer but horribly cold and damp in winter but as one of our girls ( doggie) has a funny bladder she sometimes cannot make it outside and has an accident always only ( thankfully) in hall, so been looking for a few years for something that can be washed - used to have a carpet runner before her bladder started to play up but it had to go, was either damp from her or damp from me washing it and never dry:) That floor when I was it takes forever to dry with it being so cold, its not house is damp we have a humidifier thing that is fitted into upstairs ceiling which stays on all the time ( it could be turned off but would mean climbing up a ladder and power it uses is so low we have not noticed it at all on bills and it draws damp air out of house, through a vent in the roof and brings in fresh ( but dries it as it is brought in) so thankfully since then no moisture anywhere ( except bathroom after bath or shower but its tiled everywhere and less of kitchen if I have been boiling things and not had back door open, tumble dryer is no vent type, I have a maiden but where to put it, this house just has no room).

Can I ask has anyone bought anything from coopers of stortford and had their order arrive, its just ordered from them some bits for winter ( £160 gulp) money was taken within a week , had an email saying order completed but no goods - on their website it says do not query till 28 days but that seems so long.

Thanks

Thriftkitten

Just thought I'd mention.... Back from Mr T's and they have oats so simple 16 pack boxes half price, down to £1.49.... thought this was a bargain for 16 puches of the golden syrup flavour so dragged off 4 boxes, i for the pantry and 3 for under the bed lol!:o:o:rotfl:

toottifrootti

managed to book the sweep at long last - 22nd december:eek: I know I cant use the fire continually but at least if its swept I will be able to use it on occassions if needed. Its £26 - is that reasonable - not much I can do about it as sweeps seem to be in short supply.

My LL is coming on friday to do curtain poles and blind and bits and bobs so that will make a dent in my list.

tugrin

tooti - £26 for the sweep is fantastic - I paid £50 in Norfolk and that seems to be the rate - DS pays £100 for her Rayburn and stove but that IS a fiddly pair of jobs.
prepareathome- your dehumidifier thingy that is biult in sounds too good to be true - I had no idea you could get a system like that - what is it called?

tiff

£26 is very good, mine was £35 last week.

tumptyteapot

toottifrootti wrote: »

managed to book the sweep at long last - 22nd december:eek: I know I cant use the fire continually but at least if its swept I will be able to use it on occassions if needed. Its £26 - is that reasonable - not much I can do about it as sweeps seem to be in short supply.

Sounds like a bargain to me, I think mine was £50 last time

prepareathome

tugrin wrote: »

.
prepareathome- your dehumidifier thingy that is biult in sounds too good to be true - I had no idea you could get a system like that - what is it called?

Now that is the question, I cannot remember and I just had a look up at ceiling but nothing seems to be written on the cover, so will ask hubby to bring ladders up as ahem its rather dusty and dirty, looking a bit yellow as I totally forget its there, its only all this talk of humidfiers that reminded me when I wondered why we no longer had damp. So will take cover off when he does bring ladders up and see what it says if not please have patience while I dig out the bills or manual - its guaranteed for about 10 years so bill must still be around, but where - you have not seen what I laughing call the study, you can just get in to pc and printer rest of room is literally a mountain of stored stuff and somewhere in that I think will be manual if not the bill. I have good intentions of keeping things clear but as time goes buy other things need to be kept on hand so stuff gets dumped into boxes and vanishes into the mountain.

I know it was the window firm that told us about it, as he could see how black our window ledges and some corners of walls were. We compared the prices of that against moveable humidifiers but as space at a premium in this house, and we would have needed one in each room really, this won. One thing I like is how quiet it is, as most of the workings are in the loft above the insulation so noise doesn't travel down, you really have to strain in the middle of the night ( only time its ever quiet round here as we live on a main road into city which has got busier over the years

I promise to get back to you with information as soon as I can.